ISRO lost communication with Chandrayaan 2's lander Vikram moments before it was preparing to make a soft-landing on the surface of the moon.

India captain Virat Kohli and former India opener Virender Sehwag on Saturday lauded the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for their hard work. While Kohli said "there's nothing like failure in science", Sehwag wrote that the dream might be unfulfilled but the morale is still high. Hours after India's space agency announced that communication with the Chandrayaan 2 lander was lost, Sehwag tweeted: "Khwaab Adhoora raha par Hauslein Zinda hain, ISRO woh hai, jahaan mushkilein Sharminda hain. Hum Honge Kaaamyab #Chandrayan2."

There's nothing like failure in science, we experiment & we gain. Massive respect for the scientists at #ISRO who worked relentlessly over days & nights. The nation is proud of you, Jai Hind!#Chandrayan2

Earlier, ISRO in a tweet had said: "This is Mission Control Centre. #VikramLander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication from Lander to the ground stations was lost. Data is being analyzed. #ISRO".

ISRO had lost communication with Chandrayaan 2's lander Vikram moments before it was preparing to make a soft-landing on the surface of the moon.

In the early hours of Saturday, ISRO chairman K Sivan announced that communication with the lander was lost at 2.1 km from the lunar surface.

"The lander Vikram's descent was as planned and normal performance was observed until an altitude of 2.1 kilometres. Subsequently, the communication from the lander to the ground station was lost. The data is being analysed," ISRO chief K Sivan said.

The lander Vikram successfully separated from Chandrayaan 2's orbiter on September 2; it continues to orbit the moon. The orbiter has a lifespan of one year, and may still function beyond that, the ISRO has said.

The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22.

India's second mission to the moon was approved by the cabinet on September 2008, just before the launch of Chandrayaan 1.